The Voice of Business for Long Beach

Long Beach Business Journal Year In Review

Top International News Stories Of 2012 (in no particular order)

December 28th, 2012 – The Long Beach Business Journal “Year In Review” spotlights the top newsmakers, news stories and photos of 2012, plus a look ahead to what local issues we’ll be watching closely in 2013. The seven-part series began December 24 and concludes January 1. Let us know what you think should or should not have made the lists.

• President Obama visits Burma following a string of political and economic reforms by the ruling military government, including the normalization of relations with pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

• Syria continued its descent into bloody civil war as disgraced head of state Bashar Al-Assad slowly loses grip on power during the Arab Spring’s longest revolt.

• In Benghazi, Libya a terrorist attack on an American compound kills four, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

• Another Israeli-Palestinian war erupts for days in November before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton helps negotiate a cease-fire.

• NASA's Curiosity rover landed safely on Mars in August and has since captured stunning images of the red planet and continues to explore whether it has ever offered a habitable environment for microbes – life.

• The LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) scandal envelops Barclays, UBS and other banks in at least seven countries when it is revealed that the banks manipulated interest rates to reflect healthier-than-actual performance in order to profit from trades.

• The War in Afghanistan America’s longest conflict, rages on past 11 years as U.S. plans a troop withdrawal at the end of 2014.

• Scientists may have found the Higgs boson particle after what has been deemed the longest and most expensive research projects in the history of science. The particle could unlock the mysteries of why there is life and diversity in the universe.

• Austrian Felix Baumgartner skydives from near-space, 128,000 feet, recording the highest and fastest jump in history while breaking the sound barrier.